Kindling Sparks
by Yoonggi
Summary: Fate wasn't always kind to Denki. He lived his life by smiling at every hardships that would come along his way. He needed to be strong. For Denki, being strong and standing alone was his usual way of solving things. The boy would soon find out that he's made plenty of friends that is more than willing to be his pillar of strength whenever he would falter. [KamiJirou Kingdom]


A:N/ This has been a passion project of my friend. He originally had this account, but as his legacy - I decided to continue on his most precious work in order for the fans of KamiJirou to read it. It meant so much to him months back when he was drafting the story. He never once stopped. That person, my friend, he got lost in his life. This is my way of repaying back what that friend of mine did. After receiving his story and his beloved works, I will now be the one to resume False Ends' works. I namely want to focus on this story above anything else. This has been months in the making, I hope his feelings reaches the readers.

* * *

Remembering

* * *

An ordinary week had passed since the finish of the school festival. Everyone in the class of I-1 had been in high spirits. The students were rowdier than usual on the Monday morning after the festival was held during Friday the other week. Life had gone back to normal. The students were still adjusting, but overall, they were doing relatively fine with the upcoming trainee missions that were prepared for them by the school's administration.

"Denki…? Hey are you alright?" Kyoka asked out of the blue when blood had dripped down on Denki's nose. They had been training partners for that day, but something felt off about Denki. The boy looked more exhausted than everyone else. The boy looked pale as well.

"Oh this…? Don't worry about it…!" Denki smiled as Kyoka pulled out a tissue from her pants, wiping away the small drops of blood that were still pouring out.

"Oh no you're not, I'll call Aizawa-sensei so you can rest up soon." As the Kyoka was about to leave Denki, the boy suddenly fell to the ground in a thud. The rest of the class were alerted and rushed Denki to Recovery Girl's room. Kyoka was the one who panicking, being the one closest to Denki. She was the one that stayed behind the rest of the class as he was resting on Recovery Girl's beds.

"Kyo… Where am I…?" Denki woke up and saw Kyoka laying her head down onto his bed while he rested. He had a small smile on his face when he saw her peacefully sleeping. Denki gently caressed Kyoka's face and chuckled at the adorable girl that was concerned for him.

"You were really cool during the school festival… I wish I could've heard you sing more..." Denki softly whispered into Kyoka's ear. He let her rest for a while before leaving her to get up and take the medicine that was on the nightstand beside him.

* * *

Denki had been battling an illness ever since he was a child. He had a frail body and it couldn't stand prolonged use of his quirk. Nevertheless, it did not stop Denki from choosing to become the cool hero that he aspires to be. He covered Kyoka with the blanket from his bed and left the room to talk to Recovery Girl if something serious came up. It would have been Denki's plan, however, Kyoka stirred awake before Denki could leave the room. Kyoka rubbed her eyes off of sleep and saw Denki reaching for the doorknob as he was about to exit the room.

"Mhmm, are you feeling okay now…?" she asked. Kyoka kept the blanket close because of the cold air that was circulating in the air conditioned room. Denki turned his head slowly and saw the look of concern that Kyoka had in her eyes. It made him feel bad that he had bothered her for staying in the room with him. Denki faked a smile tried to play innocent.

"Hey, I'll be okay. It's just a small nose bleed! What are you so concerned about…" He trailed off when he saw Kyoka's grip on her arm getting tighter, as if she was holding something back. She bit her lip and turned away, nodding furiously instead.

"Fine… " Kyoka didn't bother looking back at Denki. She instead got up and left the room without another word. He felt bad for leaving Kyoka in the dark. No one from his classmates knows about his illness yet, Denki didn't want anyone to pity him nor try to give him an easier time while they were training to be heroes.

Nighttime soon came and everyone from the class apart from Bakugo had been anxiously waiting for Denki to get back from Recovery Girl's office. Mina was the first one to break the ice on the matter when she saw Kyoka being upset during dinner. Denki still hadn't come back from the dorms, worrying them further.

Mina knocked on Kyoka's door after dinner, wanting to talk to the other girl. She was worried for her friend who seemed upset earlier when they were eating dinner. I bothered Mina that Denki and Kyoka might have fought, the fight being the cause of Kyoka's sullen mood.

"Hey… Kyoka-chan, can I come in?" Mina heard footsteps from the other side of the door as Kyoka opened it. She was already dressed in her nightwear, which Mina guessed that she was about to go to bed early.

"Come on in…" she gestured, letting her friend in her room. Kyoka sat on her chair near her work desk, picking up her guitar from the side of the bed to play it. Mina furrowed her eyebrows and wondered how she would go about and mention the matter to her friend.

"Did you… And Denki-kun fought earlier?" She asked solemnly. There was a pause before she heard a reply from her friend. Kyoka sighed and began playing some random chords on her guitar to soothe her nerves.

"No… But I was concerned for that idiot… He was lying when I asked if he was okay…." Kyoka frowned and looked out into the window. From her window she could see Denki's familiar blonde hair walking towards the dormitory building. He was looking idiotic again, but this time, he looked to be slapping his cheeks before going inside the dormitory.

"Do you want me to ask him? Maybe Denki-kun doesn't want you to be concerned about him…" Mina replied. Kyoka sighed again and nodded, setting her guitar down before hugging in her knees closer to her chest.

"I'm sorry for troubling you like this, Mina."

Mina hugged Kyoka before quietly leaving her friend's room. She went over to stop by at Momo's room to have their friend try and console Kyoka.

She knocked on Momo's door, hoping that her friend wasn't busy at this time.

"Hey Yao-Momo, are you still up?" Mina asked, she heard a hum from the other side of the door before letting herself in the room. Momo was brushing her hair in front of the mirror while some music from her radio played in the room. Mina went over to her friend and sat down on the bed.

"How's Jirou-san?" she asked while picking up a scrunchie from her nightstand to tie her hair up in a messy bun. Mina laughed awkwardly before laying down on the bed to stare at the ceiling. She sighed dramatically before flailing her arms in frustration.

"They definitely had a fight earlier when Kaminari-kun was in the clinic. Kyoka-chan told me that he's been hiding something." Momo hummed before deciding to lay down on her bed with Mina. Both of the girls looked at the ceiling absent mindedly.

"I don't think that it's our concern to meddle with their business…"

"But I hate seeing Jirou-san being sad. Kaminari-kun and her became closer after the festival right?" she asked, thinking back at the school festival concert that they held. Momo had a smile in her face when she remembered how happy everyone was when they finally performed. She loved it when everyone got to hear Kyoka's voice. It made everyone in the auditorium go wild from the performance.

"Totally! Kaminari-kun was sneaking glances at her when they were practicing and of course, my detective skills noticed it from a mile away." She bragged. Momo poked Mina's cheek before giggling with her friend.

Denki was admiring the moon from outside of the dormitory. The boy sighed as he remembered the news that was told to him by Recovery Girl. The blonde scoffed at the woman's advice, not wanting to be sidelined.

"Kaminari-kun? What are you still doing here at this hour?" Denki looked over his shoulder and saw Izuku with a towel over his head coming up to him. He made some space on where he was sitting on so that Izuku could sit beside him. Both of the boys were looking at the moon above them, a full moon that night.

"Why're you still up, dude?" Denki lightly initiated the conversation. Izuku took out his cellphone and showed it to Denki.

"I was trying to get good reception here, I was supposed to call my mom, but I think she's asleep now." The boy admitted, sheepishly grinning at his mother's picture on her contact address.

"You miss home?" he asked again, wondering if his friend misses his old life. Izuku nodded slightly, just enough for Denki to notice that he nodded his head.

"Yeah… I miss home too." Denki smiled, recalling the summers he spent with his family. It had been a while since he's talked about them. Far too long, he was surprised when he started talking about his family with Izuku. He's always a friend that understood, Izuku's trust worthy nature is refreshing to Denki. He was easy to talk to and vent about things that he doesn't talk with anyone else.

Denki stood up and held out his hand for Izuku. He didn't want to talk about his family too much, so they decided to get back inside the dormitory before it gets too cold outside. A slight vibration caught Denki's attention when he got inside. Fishing for his cellphone, he opened it to see a text message with a picture attached to it.

" **Come home soon Denki, Ayame misses you so much!"** it read on the text. Next to it was a picture of Denki's little sister on her first birthday without him. She looked a bit sad when a group of people are singing to her. Denki took a deep breath before sitting down on the couch. He stared at the picture sent to him by his mother.

"I'm such a bad older brother…" he murmured, drifting off to a light slumber.

Denki hadn't told anyone his story yet. He tried to be independent from his parents ever since he graduated middle school. He saved up his allowance and applied for part time jobs whenever he could. When he graduated his junior high years in high school, Denki got accepted in U.A. Knowing his parents, he didn't get their blessings when he enrolled in U.A.

"Mhmmm… Sorry… Aya…Me…" he mumbled in his sleep, unable to get out the picture inside of his head. Denki and his sister were very close before he left home. He misses his sister, but he knows better than to just go back home. For the past year, Denki lived with his aunt who was in Tokyo.

* * *

The next few days passed by without any happenings. Denki and the others were still training, being informed that they were about to face class 1-B in a sparring battle. The day of the sparring match came and Denki was well rested enough to be able to feel great when facing against their opponents from 1-B. Luckily for Denki and his teammates, they were able to scrape by during their long skirmish fight against the opposing team.

Denki felt light headed after the battle, he almost collapsed if it weren't for Hitoshi being there to keep him still. Hitoshi nodded at Denki before silently leaving him on the resting area to recover. Recovery Girl saw Denki was sitting on one of the infirmary beds. He hoped that no one noticed him coming here it would be hard to explain why he was there in the infirmary after the sparring match.

"What am I gonna do with you, ya little rascal…" the older woman sighed, taking a seat beside Denki to check on him. Recovery Girl put a hand on Denki's head and concentrated for a little bit.

"Take this medicine and try not to over exert yourself. Okay kiddo?"

"Alright grand auntie, I'll be fine!" Deki smiles as he took the medicine and drank it. Recovery Girl sighed and went outside to tend to the other kids.

Denki placed his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. He was running out of time in his stay at U.A. Through sheer willpower and some medicine, he managed to stay relatively healthy for the past few months. However, he soon found out that his over usage of his quirk was going to be the cause of him having to take a leave. It scared him deep down inside. He cursed his frail body and tried to hide away the pain that he felt sometimes.

Denki stared at his quivering hands and grimaced. It was a bad sign. They usually don't happen unless Denki becomes overcharged. The boy nervously breathed and tried to calm himself down.

"Crap… Please not at this time…" he mumbled, feeling the shaking of his hands that aren't stopping. He steeled himself and tried to get them to stop. Eventually they did after Denki's medicine started to work. His hands felt numb, however. They felt cold and brittle, somehow feeling that his hands are slowly deteriorating its nervous functions.

He heard his ringtone chiming in the empty room. Denki fished out his phone from his pockets and saw the caller I.D being from his mother's number. With a small sigh, Denki didn't pick up the call. He instead pulled up the covers and went to rest for a little bit.

"I need more time… Please…" he begged to whichever higher power was listening. His time with his friends was something that he cherished deeply. Just the thought of not being able to be with them due to his illness scared him. Luckily of Denki, no one in U.A. was informed about his illness other than a select few like his grand aunt and the principal. He got in U.A. through persevering through the harsh conditions of the exams. Now that his dream of becoming a hero is just in his fingertips, the boy couldn't help but feel frustrated that his goal might not be fulfilled due to his condition.

Denki woke up after a good hour, his head was feeling better and there were no more apparent hand tremors that he felt. He got up the bed and went outside for some fresh air. Most of the other kids are done with their matches, Denki spotting Kyoka from afar as he waved towards her. He quickly matched up to her pace and walked beside her as they were going back to the dormitories.

"Hey what's up? How did your match go?" he asked nonchalantly, Kyoka rolled her eyes like usual and tried to shrug it off.

"Yeah it was alright…" Kyoka replied, quickening up her pace to leave Denki behind. She was still upset at him. Eijiro was the first one to console Denki's defeated shrug, laughing at his friend while lightly slapping Denki's back. Izuku nodded and tried to cheer Denki up as well, Sero on the other hand, was busy laughing at Denki along with Mineta.

"Ohhhh! Get dumped!" they teased in unison as they struck a nerve on Denki. He grumbled and flipped them the bird before getting back inside the dormitory with his friends.

Toru noticed Denki's sullen mood when he was ignored by Kyoka. The girl tried to cheer up the blonde, asking Ojiro for help.

"Hey, hey, what do we do with Kaminari-kun? He seems to be down on the dumps after Kyo-chan was upset at him." Toru whispered to her best friend. Ojiro crossed his arms and tried to think of a way to cheer Denki up.

"Maybe make his favorite dish for dinner? What does Denki usually love eating?" Ojiro asked back to his invisible friend. Toru put a hand on her chin and tried to remember the last time that she saw Denki eating a dish that he openly claims to love.

Sero who happened to be eavesdropping on the two, joined in on the conversation.

"Oh Denki…? He loves croquettes. Guy wouldn't stop talking about the ones that we had when we went on a trip in downtown." Croquettes were fairly simple as Toru said. She suggested that they make them for the whole class as a treat to congratulate themselves after a long day of sparring against the other class. The three went to work shortly after reaching the dormitory, but before they continued, Sero knocked on Sato's door to ask his friend for help, to which Sato agreed without another word.

Kyoka stared at her computer screen absentmindedly while in the midst of practicing a new song on her guitar. She sighed as the screen read the details of the concert for newcomers like her that's going be held in about a year from now. After her performance in the school festival, Kyoka's inner musician side couldn't help but crave for the limelight again. She wanted to perform in front of the crowds, just her and her singing without a care to give about her problems with Denki.

She was cutoff mid-thought when her mind danced around Denki again. She was still upset at him, but she was aware that she was being dramatic over a small matter. Kyoka wanted to apologize tonight before they go to bed, so she tried to text Denki first in order to ask him if he wants to talk later on.

"Here goes nothing…" she held her breath and sent the text that she drafted after about an hour of struggling on what to say. It didn't take long before Denki was knocking on Kyoka's door. She took a deep breath before opening her door. She was little bit surprised when she saw Denki holding up a plate of piping hot croquettes at her with a soft smile on his face.

"Hey Kyo, want some croquettes? They're pretty rad!"

"Toru and the others made them for everyone, thought I'd bring 'ya some since I'm already here." He explained, Kyoka chuckled and smiled back at her friend.

"You had me pretty worried when you weren't returning my texts from time to time. So, what's up?" Denki asked while he sat down on Kyoka's bed. The two of them hadn't spoken to each other for days and it got a little bit awkward at first. Denki tried to lighten up the mood by playing some random music on his phone so that it wouldn't be so quiet around them.

"Nothing much… Just-" Kyoka paused, hesitating whether she would admit it or not.

"The same as always, but I think that I kinda missed you bugging me around on a daily basis. The peace and quiet was so new to me." She fired back and recovered as Denki feigned to be hurt. The two laughed it off and shot remarks back at each other.

"You're becoming more emo when you try to ignore me, admit it!" Denki yelled unable to contain the laughter building up inside of him. Kyoka flushed red and tried to jab Denki in the eyes with her ear jacks, eliciting annoyed grunts at him.

"You little- If it weren't for Mina telling me that you were walking around like a kicked puppy I wouldn't be here trying to apologize to you!" Kyoka stared wide-eyed at Denki as he gazed back at her with a soft smile on his face.

"Apology accepted, I missed you Kyo…" he sighed, taking a croquette from the plate that was resting on her desk.

"Yeah… I… Kinda missed you too…" she mumbled back. They ate silently. Denki was humming a random song while Kyoka was writing some lyrics on her notebook that she kept. Things had return to how they once were. Neither of the two spoke a word due to the sudden awkward air. The room was filled with silence, yet it didn't seem like anyone of them wanted to leave.

"Kyo…? Do you want to go out this Friday?" Denki turned to Kyoka and watched as the girl flinched and started to fidget around shyly. Kyoka avoided Denki's piercing gaze and nodded instead. They had a long weekend in front of them, which gave the two some time to plan out what they were going to do. Denki smiled ever-so-softly and sighed in content.

"Okay…" Kyoka gently laid her head on his shoulder and mumbled something barely coherent.

"Tell me something that I don't know about you yet…" she asked. Denki looked up at the ceiling and then back at Kyoka. He then paused before answering her question.

"Well I-" Denki bit his lip and held back when he saw Kyoka looking at him intently. She was waiting for him. But he couldn't possibly bring himself to make her worry anymore. Not at that moment when they just made up. So, he instead told her something else.

"Well what? Don't leave me hanging dude…" Kyoka joked, nudging Denki's shoulder with hers. Denki played it cool and laughed along with her. It was his chance.

"I actually wanted to learn how to play the keyboard, but I don't have any music aptitude." He admitted, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. Kyoka held back her fits of giggling and held her sides to calm herself down from teasing Denki further.

"I-I I'm so sorry… I didn't expect that you'd be saying something so cheesy and out of character…." She said between her giggles. Denki's heart soared. He was happy to see her smiling again. This was the Kyoka that he liked; the same girl that made life fun and exciting for Denki.

"Can you teach me how?" Denki smiled. Kyoka nodded and went to take out her keyboard from underneath her bed. She had plenty of instruments in her room, most of the ones that she had didn't take up much space.

Denki paused while Kyoka was setting up the keyboard in front of him. He stared at her blankly, eventually annoying Kyoka.

"Hello? Stop staring at me, idiot." Kyoka blushed, turning away shyly. Denki silently nodded and sat next to Kyoka. She cleared her voice and started to play a simple tune on the keyboard.

"It's really simple, you just have to memorize the keys and-"

Kyoka felt her heart skip a beat when she came close face-to-face with Denki. She could feel his breath and his gaze that followed her. Denki had a thin line on his lips, as if he were struggling to say something at the last moment.

"I want to say something that I'm going to regret if I say it now…" Denki uttered, inching his hand closer to Kyoka's – his gaze never leaving hers. Kyoka was confused, but her voice refused to act when she wanted to ask him what it was that he couldn't say to her just yet.

"So I uhm… Until I-" Denki stumbled with his words, trying to recover from what would be an awkward moment between them.

"Until I can say it wholeheartedly without a doubt, can you wait for me then?" Denki's gaze intensified; his heart hammering on his chest. He could feel his pulse rising and a slight nausea.

"No matter what it is – You better tell me one day, or else you'll miss out on a cool girl like me…" Kyoka sighed, covering her hand with Denki's.

They practiced together playing the keyboard after Denki's confession-like words towards Kyoka. It was getting late and they still had classes for tomorrow before Friday would come.

"I had fun…" Denki smirked at Kyoka as he stood outside her door. Kyoka nodded. She scanned around the hallway before pulling Denki in for a quick side-hug. She nuzzled onto his shoulder before pushing him out of her door, slamming it with more force than she intended to.

"What the hell was that-" Denki uttered, dumbfounded and unable to process what had just happened. Kyoka sent him a message via text afterwards.

 **[If you tell anyone about that, I will murder you.]** It read on the text message. Denki sent back a quick reply before going back to his own room.

"Dude, seriously… What's with that dumb smile of yours? It's giving me the chills…" Sero teased Denki. He snapped out of his reverie and didn't notice that he was lost in his own thoughts.

"Was I really smiling too much?" he asked, Sero nodded before going back into his own room.

"Huh… I guess that really happened." Denki held his cheek in front of the mirror in his room. He slapped his cheeks before turning up for the night.

 **[I can't sleep.]** He sent to Kyoka, staring at the ceiling while thinking about the things that happened between them.

After a few minutes, he received a reply.

 **[Just shut up and close your eyes…]** Kyoka replied. Denki huffed and shut off his cellphone.

* * *

Morning came and Denki had a headache from staying up late last night. He spent his time reading manga instead of sleeping. He only had around a few hours of sleep, rendering him a complete mess in class. Plenty of the guys were poking fun at Denki, who couldn't keep up with most of what they were saying.

On his way to the cafeteria, Denki managed to bump into Ibara from class 1-B. The girl greeted him and asked about how his day was going, making small talk in the process.

"Oi, I didn't know you were friends with plant-cutie?" Sero nudged at Denki after seeing his friend talking with Ibara a while ago. Denki chuckled and dismissed Sero's snide remark.

"Oh come on dude, we just know each other. Plus, she's really friendly!" It happened after the battle after their battle in the U.A Sports Festival Denki got to know the girl better and became good friends with Ibara.

Denki saw Kyoka from across the room and waved at her. He had a perpetual dumb-looking smile on his face after their intimate moment last night. All the weariness and lack of sleep seemingly drained away from Denki once he saw Kyoka smiling back and waving at him. He was fired up to finish the day so that he can plan out what they would do in Friday.

"Oh hey, do you guys know any good places to go? I can't decide on where to go out on Friday…" Sero and Eijiro raised an eyebrow at Denki, urging the boy to spill whatever he is that he's planning on doing.

"Wait so… you're not going on a date… Are you?" Sero made it clear to not make any misunderstandings between them. Denki paused and didn't realize until then that he asked Kyoka out on a date. It dawned onto the boy that he asked her out for a date on Friday.

"It's… Complicated, but that's not the point! Help me out fellas!" Izuku chuckled and suggested some places such as an ice cream parlor that's getting good reviews online lately. Eijiro on the other hand, suggested that Denki took out his date on a paintball field or hiking.

"What about you ask them out to the theme park? It's pretty popular nowadays." A light bulb lit up as Denki took Sero's suggestion. It would be fun going to a theme park with Kyoka he thought. He was stoked. Denki immediately went back to class with glee, hoping that the day would end so he could finish planning out his date with Kyoka.

He passed by Kyoka in the hallway as they were going back to class. She nudged him on the shoulders and teased him for smiling so much.

"What's gotten you in such a good mood?" she asked, Denki zipped his lips in a swift motion, winking at Kyoka with a devious smirk.

"It's a secret that you mustn't know of just yet." He replied, going back into the classroom. Kyoka tilted her head and pouted.

"That idiot… Seriously…" she sighed, before joining in the rest of their class.

At the end of the day, Denki admired the afternoon sun as he went out of the school building. The light from the sunset nearly blinded him, its orange rays bleeding onto the ground and walls. Denki sighed and took a photo of the beautiful scenery in front of him. Capturing sunsets had become his hobby whenever he would see a sunset that he would want to save for later. Most of his phone's photo library composed of pictures of sunsets.

"Hey, what're you waiting for, dummy? Let's go home!" Kyoka's voice was music to Denki's ears.

He snapped a photo of her against the sunset. Her face was graced with the soft orange rays as a small gust of wind blew that made her hair flutter into the open air. Denki felt his cheeks warming up. He was at awe at Kyoka's beautiful smile that was captured in the photo.

"Hey, what're you standing there for?" Kyoka asked again, smiling from ear-to-ear at Denki. Denki chuckled and nodded, taking Kyoka's outstretched hand to stand up. There was an intense pause in Denki's stare. He gazed at Kyoka with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Please wait for me, until I can really say it…" he squeezed Kyoka's hand and heard her squeak in surprise. They both blushed beet-red, feeling the moment of passion encompassing them both as it filled the air.

"Do I really have to wait that long?" Kyoka asked. She felt so comfortable with Denki's hand wrapped around hers. Unsure, however, there was still an air of mystery between them. There was still an invisible boundary that they couldn't quite cross yet. For Denki, all he knew that moment was that he wasn't the person he wants to be when he would say outwardly what he feels towards Kyoka.

"I'm so sorry… I know it's improper that I make you wait this long." Denki admitted, clenching his fist in frustration. Kyoka cupped his cheeks and shook him out of his reverie.

"Hey… No matter what happens, just promise me that you'll stay, okay?" In an instant, Denki wrapped Kyoka into a hug. There was nothing more that needed to be said. He was with her, and it was all that he needed in that moment. She was the person who made him better. He changed for the better because he wanted to be the ideal hero that would be the one to help save the day alongside the wonderful person that he's come to admire.

"I promise…" he whispered into Kyoka's ear, feeling warmer after Kyoka returned his hug.

* * *

Denki strolled through the night outside of the dormitory. He felt somewhat overwhelmed from the events that keep on happening between him and Kyoka. He was happier than he could have ever imagined. After finishing his plan for their date on Friday, Denki was now out in the dormitory, trying to sort out his feelings.

"You've been sneaking out pretty late Kaminari." Aizawa called out to Denki from behind the tree that he was leaning on. Denki froze and sighed in defeat as his teacher joined him.

"Yeah well… I have a lot of things in my mind sensei…" Denki admitted. Aizawa nodded and was deciding if he should punish Denki or not. Going out that late at night in the dormitories was prohibited due to the recent villain attacks against U.A.

"Time is running out kid, Recovery Girl wanted to keep running some tests on you so you'll be medically cleared for another year…" Aizawa broke the news to Denki, making the boy sigh out loud. Denki would be lying to himself if he didn't admit that everyday had been taking a toll on him. His medicine kept him from major fatigue, but it would eventually lose its potency with continued usage.

"Sensei… Do you think I can still become a hero at this state…?" Denki turned to Aizawa with a serious look on his face. He wanted to know the honest opinion of his teacher. Aizawa was fixated on keeping his students safe above all else. His students' health was on the top of his priorities.

"Kid… Listen, you don't have much time left in the hero course." The teacher broke the news. Denki felt shattered. His health was crippled his chances. A glimmer of hope came when Aizawa suggested Denki's last thread of hope.

"Recovery Girl mentioned something about getting you 'fixed' with a surgery…" Denki shook his head and cried on his hands.

"Sensei… My sister is sick. We can't afford that surgery for me." Denki softly smiled. He kept his little sister as his priority above anything else.

"You're a stubborn kid. Even when your aunt offered to pay for the surgery, you still refused."

Years ago, when Denki found out about the surgery that could give him a normal life, he refused to undergo. The boy ran away from home and tried to live on his own because he felt that he would only trouble his parents. He kept it all to himself. No one apart from Recovery Girl and a select few teachers knew about his disposition. Denki refused to get the surgery because it would only add in on the pile of medical bills that his little sister was taking up.

"Kid, you need to stop thinking that you're a burden to people." Aizawa patted Denki's shoulder. He consoled the young boy. It was something that Recovery Girl asked him to do because Aizawa is one of the only people who could get through Denki.

"Come on sensei, drop the act. I'm never getting any better." Denki bitter chuckled and raked back his hair that covered his face. He needed to come to terms with the reality that he doesn't have a chance at becoming a hero with his body's current state.

Aizawa fell silent for a moment. He had a hard time getting his message across Denki. It hadn't occurred to him that even the most happy-go-lucky of people in his class turns out to be the one carrying the most burdens.

"You have until January to think about it. Please reconsider it." Aizawa left without another word. He felt powerless that he couldn't get through Denki's walls. For Denki, his health was something that didn't tie him down with push comes to shove. He cared about others before he would notice that he needed to take care of himself.

Denki sighed and went back to his room to turn in for the night. He didn't want to think about his condition any further. He felt light-headed when he got back into the dormitories. When he got inside, Koda had been downstairs preparing some tea. Denki waved at his classmate and joined the other boy for tea.

"You seem bothered, Kaminari-kun." Koda nonchalantly brought up. Denki chuckled and stared at the golden liquid on his mug. He nodded and took a long sip of the hot tea that almost burned his tongue.

"Do you ever feel like you don't know anymore?" Denki asked. Sato piqued up after coming out of the bathroom downstairs. He joined the two boys in the conversation, making a few light jokes before sitting down for tea with them.

"When I gorge myself with sugar, I feel like my brain is getting slowed down. Does that count?" Sato chuckled. Denki nodded and made light jabs at himself for being on the same boat as Sato.

"I feel lost whenever my animal friends would get hurt. I just want them to be safe and warm." Koda mentioned. The three boys chatted over the course of a few hours. The conversation eventually landed upon the topic of siblings. Denki felt that he didn't belong with the two of them, hearing how much they cared about their siblings from their stories.

"I'm a bad older brother…" He admitted. Sato and Koda stared at each other, wondering what made Denki feel that way. They tried to console Denki, but he was lost on his own reverie by the time that they were able to snap him out of it.

"I lied to Ayame; I broke our promise, I ran away from home, I just ran away until I could try and fix myself up without burdening anyone…" Denki cried before falling into a deep slumber. The tea that Koda had prepared relaxed him to the point wherein he unconsciously told the two about his deepest regrets. Koda and Sato worked together to get him up to his room, not wanting to have their friend sleep on the cold lobby of the dorm.

"Sato-kun, do you think that Kaminari-kun will be fine?" Koda asked worriedly. Sato scratched the back of his head and shrugged.

"Maybe it's not our place to meddle with his business. The only thing we can do as his friends is support him with whatever he decides on doing…" Sato replied as they slowly closed Denki's door.

* * *

Denki's dreams had become surreal when he passed out. He awoke to a bright white room, devoid of anything. He looked around for any signs of life or objects, but nothing still came into his vision. Denki walked around aimlessly. He eventually reached a white door with heart-shaped door knob on it. A keyhole had kept him from entering the room as it was locked temporarily.

"It's locked…" he hears someone say out loud. A voice called out to Denki from afar and he stared down to see a figure of a young girl with blonde hair similar to his. He couldn't quite figure out who was the girl that was smiling at him. She had a sunhat on that tried to cover her face. He could only notice from her facial features that she had long blonde locks and hazel-brown eyes when she stared up at him.

"Ayame?" He asked, bewildered by his dreams and its recent development. Ayame smiled and nodded. From her small pouch bag, she took out a golden key with a heart-shaped bow on the end. The white doors opened and revealed a spacious room with a seat on the middle.

"Where am I?" he asked. Ayame took his hand and pulled him inside of the room. Denki marveled at the ornate designs that scattered the walls of the room.

"This is your inner subconscious place. I am not your real sister, but I'm merely a manifestation of your regrets." The fake Ayame smiled as she explained what Denki was doing there.

"Wait, this doesn't make any sense." Denki's stubborn nature couldn't understand the point of him being stuck in his mind. He tried pinching himself to wake up, but it didn't have any effect on him whatsoever.

"Why can't I wake up?" he flatly asked the fake Ayame, glaring at the girl.

"Your real little sister is desperately using her quirk to reach out to you. How can you belittle her wishes that much?" the fake Ayame explains. Denki was taken aback. He wanted to deny that she was lying. He didn't trust the fake Ayame in front of him. It must be all something that he made up in his mind. Denki steeled himself and tried to shut the fake Ayame out of his mind entirely, completely ignoring her instead.

"Coward. You couldn't even visit her on her birthday." Denki felt the strength of his knees giving out as he fell on the floor.

"What… What the hell was I supposed to do?" he asked, feeling the guilt that was eating way at him.

"You don't have to run anymore." The fake Ayame pats Denki's head and rests her head onto his shoulder. She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and nuzzled onto his chest like the real Ayame would.

"I don't want to trouble anyone… The real Ayame's sick. I…" the fake Ayame cupped Denki's hands with her tiny hands and smiled. Denki felt tears streaming down his face as he saw the real smile that the real Ayame would give him whenever he would feel down.

"Then we'll solve things together! You aren't alone anymore, Oni-chan." Denki fell silent. He kept sniffling every once in a while. He composed himself and tried to come into terms that people weren't giving up on him as much as he wanted them to.

"Before I wake up, can you relay a message on the real Ayame for me?"

"Of course! Anything for Ayame's precious big brother." The fake Ayame replied. Denki smiled and wrapped her in for a hug.

"Wait for me, your big brother is going to visit you. So just wait a little bit more, okay Ayame?" he looked back at the fake Ayame and felt his shoulder getting wet. The fake Ayame nodded and sobbed onto his shoulder.

The white room around Denki and the fake Ayame was slowly fading away like tiny pieces of paper. It flew into the wind and swirled around the room, revealing a beautiful floor with tainted glass on it.

"See you later, Oni-chan!" the fake Ayame smiled, waving at Denki before disappearing herself.

~ End

* * *

A:N/ First and foremost; I would like to thank the people on the Kamijirou Kingdom discord server for helping me and my friend out when he was first drafting this story out. Without them, this story wouldn't have even existed. It was his passion and devotion to the community on that discord server that allowed him to pursue what he loved doing the most. I'm merely doing my part as his friend to bring you guys the work that he poured his time and effort into.


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